Yankees vs. Astros: Dates, TV Schedule and Live Stream for 2017 ALCS

It will be the historic franchise with 27 World Series titles against the one without a single ring for the American League title.

The New York Yankees completed their comeback against the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday with a 5-2 victory in Game 5 of the American League Division Series after dropping the first two contests. The Bronx Bombers will face the Houston Astros in the AL Championship Series with the winner set to advance to the Fall Classic.

The Astros already eliminated the Yankees’ archrival Boston Red Sox, who won the AL East over New York this season. Houston also beat the Yankees in five of their seven regular-season matchups this year, although the postseason is a different type of game with increased bullpen usage and pressure-packed moments.

The bullpens figure to be a major storyline in the ALCS, considering New York finished with the third-best bullpen ERA in the AL in 2017, while Houston finished a mere 10th, per ESPN.com. New York demonstrated its bullpen prowess in Game 5 against the Indians when the combination of David Robertson and Aroldis Chapman pitched 4.2 scoreless innings to secure the victory.

It didn’t even use Dellin Betances (2.87 ERA), Chad Green (1.83 ERA) or Tommy Kahnle (2.59 ERA) in the contest, which is a daunting prospect for the Astros. Houston’s 101-61 record was 10 games better than New York’s 91-71 mark in 2017, but the latter can shorten these ALCS games with its formidable bullpen if it seizes an early lead.

That formula will put plenty of pressure on Houston’s starters and offense to dictate the tempo of the series in the early going.

Fortunately for the Astros, they have 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, 2015 AL Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel and 2017 All-Star Lance McCullers Jr. to anchor the rotation and deal with the likes of Aaron Judge, Didi Gregorius and the rest of the Yankees lineup.

As for Houston’s offense, it led all of baseball in runs scored this season and features a number of formidable pieces, including potential AL MVP Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and George Springer.

Watching that powerful offense against the Yankees’ mighty bullpen figures to be a treat for all baseball fans as they battle for a spot in the World Series.